NOWATECH - Nordic Water Technology Verification Centers (NT TECH REPORT 619)

In the NOWATECH project, co-ordinated methods for environmental technology verification (ETV) have been developed and implemented at three centers, and the centers have conducted in total 10 pilot verifications. The Project has provided a significant contribution to the plans for a European Union based ETV scheme, has contributed to international mutual recognition of ETV and has produced a proposal for a Nordic ETV scheme.

Continuous dissemination of the results has been ensured through the project web. The role, organization and prospects of ETV in the Nordic countries have been described in reports, papers and presentations, and an extensive consultation process has been done with regulators, authorities and industry at levels from national over Nordic to European and global.

What is ETV?
Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) is independent documentation of the performance of innovative technologies. Overall, ETV provides proof that:

ETV aims to help society choosing and investing in technologies that reduce climate change and environmental effects, and to choose technologies to monitor these changes and effects. ETV helps reducing risks and scepticism related to investments in new and/or innovative technologies. ETV further helps companies demonstrating the efficiency of these products and to increase market shares.

Nationally recognized programs for ETV exist in the US and Canada, among other countries, and a European ETV scheme is now being established. The project Nordic Water Technology Verification Centers, (NOWATECH) supported by Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) has been initiated to support the Nordic role in and benefits from the emerging European ETV scheme.

The objectives of this project were to support the Nordic environmental technology industry in both the home market and the global market by giving access to accepted and comparable technology verification data.

Main results
During the project, three ETV test centers were established:

In order to ensure uniform operation of ETV at the centers, each center has prepared and implemented a quality manual for ETV based upon one common and accepted template.

The selection of technologies and the planning of the test center operation and extension were supported by a technology review on innovative water technologies and a market report for the Nordic ETV.

The centers have done verification of 10 technologies as pilot operations:

An expanded network of technology providers, users and regulators has been established through:

Resulting from the network expansion in the project is a solid basis for qualified stakeholder interactions and technology solicitation for verification for the three NOWATECH test centers.

Website
The verification reports, presentations of the NOWATECH centers and general information on ETV have been made generally available at web site: www.etvnord.org. The web site now provides an efficient and established tool for Nordic ETV communication.

Recommendations
Based upon inventories and consultations made by the Danish DANETV cooperation, expansion of the ETV emphasis from water technologies to include a broader range of technologies addressing issues of environment and climate is suggested: energy technologies, air emission technologies and technologies for improving environmental management in agriculture.

Through extensive consultations with national and international authority stakeholders and ETV operators, NOWATECH has been positioned as an accepted ETV partner, globally. Still, with the current delay in establishing the European ETV scheme, the continuation and expansion of the NOWATECH ETV centers were endangered by the lack of a normative reference and framework after project completion.

QA Manual - Nordtest Method ENVIR 011
Therefore, Nordic Innovation Centre has processed and published a verification method prepared by NOWATECH as a Nordtest method. Appendix 1 to the final report, the QA manual, has been published as Nordtest Method ENVIR 011: ETV test centre and test organization - Centre quality manual template. This method will be updated according to lessons learned by doing verifications.

Future perspectives
Furthermore, the Nordic Innovation Centre board of directors has decided to establish a Nordtest ETV scheme, NTETV, and the NOWATECH partners are preparing for launching of this scheme in cooperation with Nordic Innovation Centre during the winter 2009-2010.

With these initiatives, the purpose of supporting the Nordic environmental technology industry in both the home market and the global market by giving access to accepted and comparable technology verification data is indeed secured in a long term perspective.

Project duration: October 2006 – December 2009

Project website: www.etvnord.org

Project leader:
Christian Grøn, DHI Water & Environment, Denmark

Project participants:
Uwe Fortkamp, IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet AB, Sverige
Bjarne Palsrud, Aquateam - Norwegian Water Technology Centre AS, Norway
Ulla-Maija Mroueh, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland